You can divide exercises into categories of movement patterns. Discover some examples of vertical pull exercises you can do in the gym or at home.
Vertical pull exercises are simply movements where you pull something from above to your body against resistance.
Movements like this mainly work muscles like latissimus dorsi, biceps, and grip muscles. This can make vertical pull exercises helpful for things like getting a wider back.
Vertical pull exercises can often be done with a few different back equipment options. Your main options will be a pull-up bar or cable machine in the gym and resistance bands or a pull-up bar at home.
The best resistance for vertical pull exercises varies from exercise to exercise and individual to individual.
If you are not sure how much resistance would be right for you, you can start with light resistance and slowly build up from there.
1. Pull-ups
The pull-up is a typical example of a vertical pulling exercise.
It is true that you need something to do the pull-up on but even if you currently don’t have something like this, a doorway pull-up bar is relatively inexpensive.
Once you have a good bar, take the following steps to do a pull-up:
- Hang from the pull-up bar with your hands at about shoulder-width with your hand palms facing forward.
- Pull your body up slowly until your shoulders are the height of the bar.
- Lower your body again into starting position in a controlled motion.
If this exercise is too challenging yet there are plenty of pull-up alternatives that can help you work up to your first successful pull-up.
Many of these alternatives will include the other vertical pull exercises on this list.
On the other hand, very experienced lifters may find pull-ups too easy.
If this applies to you, you can do weighted pull-ups with equipment like a dip belt, weighted vest, ankle weights, or a dumbbell between your feet.
2. Lat pulldowns
The lat pulldown exercise often has its own cable machine setup in the gym. This is basically a seat with pads to brace your upper thighs against in front of a cable machine.
These pads are there so you don’t pull yourself up during the exercise.
If you have some type of straight bar attachment and a good resistance band anchor you may also be able to do this vertical pull exercise with resistance bands.
Once you have the equipment requirements, take the following steps to do a lat pulldown:
- Take place the seat with your legs anchored behind the thigh pads. Select the desired weight.
- Grab the handle with an overhanded grip, this means hand palms facing forward/downward, with your hands at about shoulder width. Lean back slightly with your upper body.
- Slowly pull down the bar by folding your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together until the bar reaches your chest.
- Lower the bar back into the position of step 2 in a controlled motion.
As the name implies this exercise mainly focuses on your latissimus dorsi also known as your lats. Even so, it also engages a few other muscles like your biceps, forearms, deltoids, and trapezius to some extent.
3. Reverse shrugs
For the next vertical pull exercise, you can use a pull-up bar, cable machine, lat pulldown machine, or resistance bands for building muscle.
Take the following steps to do a reverse shrug with resistance bands:
- Anchor the resistance bands somewhere high. If you have a straight bar attachment you can use it.
- Grab the resistance bands at the bar or at the desired tension. Go slightly through your knees or even sit on your knees or butt. Let your stretched arms follow the tension of the resistance bands.
- Move down your shoulders as far as comfortable while keeping your arms stretched.
- Let your arms move back into the position of step 2.
Reverse shrugs are not the most impressive-looking exercise in the gym but they can help you strengthen your latissimus dorsi to some extent.
Do keep in mind that exercises with bigger ranges of motion under tension tend to be more effective for fitness goals like building muscle and improving strength.
4. Endless rope pull machine
The endless rope pull machine is simply a machine that simulates pulling a very long rope. Some models come with a seat. Others require you to stand up.
Both types can be used as a machine for vertical pull exercises.
To make this machine a vertical pull you preferably want the upper pulley to be as high as possible. If needed you can sit on your knees or tilt your upper body forward.
Once you are in a position like that, you simply start pulling the rope like you would do with a normal rope.
This comes down to your hands alternately pulling the rope vertically toward you. Pay attention to your posture when doing this exercise.
This option will generally be more of a muscle endurance exercise. You can also often increase the resistance of the machine to make it more of a muscle strength training workout.
5. Chin-ups
Chin-ups are a variation of the pull-up exercise done with a reverse grip. This is a great vertical pull exercise if you want to focus slightly more on your bicep muscles.
Take the following steps to do a chin-up:
- Hang from the pull-up bar with your hands at about shoulder-width with your hand palms facing backward.
- Pull your body up slowly until your shoulders are the height of the bar.
- Lower your body again into starting position in a controlled motion.
While chin-ups focus slightly more on your bicep muscles, they still engage other muscles like your lats, deltoids, and rhomboids a nice amount.
Similar to regular pull-ups, you may need to start with other exercises to work up to your first few chin-ups or consider weighted versions to see more gains.
6. Assisted pull-ups
Pull-ups are a very popular exercise and for a good reason. They are a great way to work out a wide variety of muscles, including your back muscles.
An issue some people have is that regular bodyweight pull-ups are currently too challenging. An assisted pull-up machine is a piece of gym equipment that is made to resolve this issue for beginners.
This machine allows you to take place on a platform with an adjustable counterweight that lifts you up.
The platform alleviates some of your body weight that would otherwise end up making the pull-up more challenging.
Besides that, this vertical pull exercise option is similar to regular pull-ups in terms of the training effects.
7. Underhanded lat pulldowns
For underhanded lat pulldowns, you again want a lat pulldown machine, cable machine, or resistance bands.
Once you have one of these, take the following steps to do an underhanded lat pulldown:
- Take place the seat with your legs anchored behind the thigh pads. Select the desired weight.
- Grab the handle with an underhanded grip, this means hand palms facing backward, with your hands at about shoulder width or closer together. Lean back slightly with your upper body.
- Slowly pull down the bar by folding your elbows and squeezing your shoulder blades together until the bar reaches your chest.
- Lower the bar back into the position of step 2 in a controlled motion.
Similar to pull-ups changing your hand grip when doing lat pulldowns changes what ratio you engage your muscles in.
By doing underhanded lat pulldowns you still train your latissimus dorsi a lot but you focus just a bit more on your bicep muscles compared to the regular version.
